Will Mercedes Diesels Be Forced to Disappear?

[PreferVintage]

I asked a variant of this question about a year ago, but recent events have me wanting to take an informal poll as it were once again, and impose on the membership here. Like the rest of the members of this forum, I am attached to early Mercedes vehicles, and sought long and hard to find my perfect diesel, a 1982 300D purchased new and driven by the proverbial little old lady. With only 170K on the clock, it did have engine and transmission problems, but I stuck with it and it runs beautifully now...lots of power, smooth, great handling and smooth ride. As an engineer, I appreciated the technology and thermodynamic efficiency of a diesel...and the lack of a computer that could leave me stranded one day. However, after the VW 'dieselgate' fiasco, the emphasis on electric cars, and the banning in some European cities of IC vehicles in general, I foresee that day when our 'dirty diesels' will be derided and possibly banned or heavily taxed here in the U.S. I see fewer and fewer W123s and W126s on the road these days...maybe five a year in the Northeast. Does anyone here think the alt left legislatures might add our cars to the plastic bag bans now sweeping everywhere? Everything is Tesla and other electrics, which of course still rely predominantly on fossil fuel electric generation, and which took a lot of energy and resources to manufacture in the first place, while the carbon footprint of our cars' manufacture was left more than 40 years ago...I doubt a Tesla today will be on the road in 40 years...